Advocacy

Stormwater Overview

The Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) recently initiated a national rulemaking to establish a comprehensive program to reduce stormwater runoff from new development and re-development projects, and make other improvements to strengthen its stormwater program. The E.P.A. announced that during this rulemaking process it will evaluate sustainable green infrastructure design techniques that mimic natural processes to evapo-transpire, infiltrate and recharge, and harvest and reuse stormwater.

The EPA asked ASLA to collect case studies on projects that successfully and sustainably manage stormwater. ASLA members responded with 479 case studies from 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. Not only do these projects showcase landscape architecture, they also demonstrate to policymakers the value of promoting green infrastructure policies. Green infrastructure and low-impact development (LID) approaches, which are less costly than traditional grey infrastructure projects, can save communities millions of dollars each year and improve the quality of our nation’s water supply.